Not many athletes can claim to be in the prime of their career at the of age 36, but Carl Froch well and truly is. His brutal knockout victory over George Groves in a fight that drew a capacity crowd of 80,000 has catapulted Froch to heights that very few boxers reach. He can now be considered a superstar and "the man" in his weight division (assuming, of course, you forget all about Andre Ward). With that great power comes the great responsibility of making the fights that the fans want to see. Here is a look at a few of the options Carl Froch has available to him when deciding who to fight next.
JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR.
A fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. would appear to tick a couple of very important boxes for Carl Froch at this stage of his career. Firstly, it would be a lucrative fight. Combining two of the most loyal fan bases - the Mexican and British fight fans - in the US would almost guarantee success at the gate. The possibility of the fight being carried as a pay-per-view event in the US, the UK, and even Mexico means there should be enough money in the pot to get both camps excited. For Carl Froch, that potential fight would also give him the one thing he has been publicly asking for since knocking out George Groves...a big Las Vegas fight. Added to the financial incentives for making the fight are the sporting ones; it would be a competitive fight (on paper at least) and is likely to be the kind of match-up that would have fans clamoring for a rematch.
So it's a no-brainer, right? Well, not quite. As good a match-up as it would be, it seems that the timing may not be quite right. Chavez Jr. has fought just twice in over 2 and half years and has no fights scheduled. No one really knows what weight he will be campaigning at and there are serious question marks about his dedication to the sport. A lot about Chavez Jr.'s career seems uncertain. It is yet unknown who his permanent trainer going forward will be and what his professional goals are. Even more unsettling than those concerns is Chavez Jr.'s ongoing dispute with his promoter Top Rank. It is unlikely that there are to be any big fight negotiations with that dark cloud hanging over Chavez's immediate professional future. The cancellation of the potential fight with Gennady Golovkin originally negotiated for July, after everything seemed to be agreed to, is proof that now is a difficult time to make a fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. It would be made in a heartbeat if the timing was right, but I suspect this particular match-up might have to wait.
UNIFICATION WITH SAKIO BIKA
For years, Sakio Bika's awkward style and lack of star power made him an unattractive fight for the best super middleweights. He would be a forgotten man in the division but for one thing, the championship belt he is currently in possession of. As long as he remains a world champion and continues to look beatable, then it is very likely that he will be one of the front-runners for the big fights at 168 lbs. With the question marks surrounding Chavez Jr. as they are, a unification fight with Bika is probably high up on the priority list for Carl Froch. Defeating Bika would see Froch crowned undisputed super middleweight champion (again, assuming you forget all about Andre Ward) and would strengthen his claim at legendary status. It would also go some way to banish the memory of his loss to Andre Ward in the public consciousness and unofficially establish Froch as the #1 Super Middleweight. Once he has that status, then all the potential fights (and the purses that come with them) become that much bigger. Imagine how big a fight with Ward, Golovkin, or Chavez Jr. for super middleweight supremacy would be?
Against Bika, Froch will be able to negotiate home advantage, the larger share of the money split, and whatever other little advantages he decides he wants. It would be an easy fight to make but for the fact that for the first time in his career, Sakio Bika has lucrative options. A long list of contenders could be lining up to fight him; Mikkel Kessler, James DeGale, Julio Cesar Chavez, Anthony Dirrell and others will be interested in fighting Bika for that WBC strap. As much negotiating power as Froch currently has, let's not forget that Bika is in position to pursue other paths as well.
JAMES DEGALE
A potential fight between Carl Froch and James DeGale would be everything that the Froch vs Groves rivalry was. DeGale is media savvy and the verbal sparring alone would spark enough interest to sell out Wembley Stadium. Both fighters claimed impressive knockout victories on Saturday night and are probably at the peak of their marketing powers. For Eddie Hearn, this would be the simplest of all fights to make. The blueprint used to sell the Groves fight could be transplanted unaltered and used to make this another big pay-per-view fight. That Froch-DeGale will be pursued next is made more likely by the fact that the Olympic gold medalist is the mandatory challenger for Froch's IBF crown. The time seems right for this fight to be made, especially off the back of the success that Froch vs Groves II was.
If Froch's handlers think one step ahead, then they may have Froch vacate the IBF title and look to unify the WBA and WBC titles with Sakio Bika. While he pursues that path, DeGale would be allowed to fight for the belt against the IBF's #2 or #3 title contender, a fight he would likely win. Victories for both Froch and DeGale in their respective fights would set up a mega-fight between two champions for the undisputed super middleweight championship early next year. That may be over-thinking the situation, but I remain convinced that it is the most efficient way of making the potential Froch vs. DeGale fight as lucrative as it could possibly be.
ANDRE WARD
I am convinced that neither Froch nor his team are interested in fighting Andre Ward again anytime soon. This potential fight doesn't offer Froch as much money as some of the above options at the current time and would likely pour cold water on the fire that Froch's recent wins have lit for him. Ward is the superior fighter and, stylistically speaking, is all wrong for Carl Froch. I believe that the fight is not a good match-up for the super middleweight division either. Ward would most likely win, and in victory, end all disputes about who the best fighter in the division is.
If this fight is pursued now, then the super middleweight division could end up like the heavyweight division; a two tier division with a king who no challenger is capable of defeating and a number of challengers who fight each other for the right to enter the king's slaughter house. As in the case of Wladimir Klitschko, Ward's presence would only serve to suffocate the division. The challengers would still make exciting match-ups amongst themselves, but there is limited excitement to watching fighters compete for 2nd place. Until more people want to see this fight again or Froch runs out of options, then don't expect Froch's camp to push for this fight, and rightly so.
THE RUBBERMATCH WITH MIKKEL KESSLER
We've seen this fight twice already and I doubt we would see anything different were they to face off again. Froch and Kessler's careers have moved in different directions since they first met in 2010. Kessler hasn't had a significant win in the four years since, while Carl Froch has gone from strength to strength. Froch vs. Kessler III could generate some interest based on their rivalry and the fighter's styles, but Froch would have a hard time justifying taking that fight over some of the others suggested here.
THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS: ADONIS STEVENSON, BERNARD HOPKINS AND SERGEY KOVALEV
It is a very rare occurrence to have a boxer fight all their world title fights up to the age of 36 in only one weight division. A jump in weight for Carl Froch seems a natural step, but is discouraged by the depth of quality competition at 168 lbs. Fights with Adonis Stevenson or Bernard Hopkins at light heavyweight would sell well. Stevenson's skill, knockout power, and stamina issues would create an intriguing match-up against Froch's own strengths and weaknesses. The ageless Bernard Hopkins has shown that he is still one of the best fighters in the world and has made a living showing up guys like Carl Froch. There exists the added incentive of world titles on the line with either fight, giving Froch the chance to become a two-weight world champion if he can find a way to claim victory. Another exciting potential fight at light heavyweight for Froch would be with Russian puncher Sergey Kovalev. The problem with that fight is the risk-reward equation for Carl Froch. Kovalev doesn't have the kind of signature wins that would make a fight between he and Froch a big PPV fight.
SO WHO'S NEXT?
If I were guiding Froch's career, based on the circumstances of the options, I would advise him to fight Sakio Bika next. I would advise that he vacate the IBF title and allow DeGale to win it with the agreement that they fight a unification fight early next year. That would potentially give Froch two big, sellable fights over the next twelve months (provided that both he and DeGale win their next fights). Win, lose, or draw against James DeGale, I would advise Froch to fulfill his ambitions by having his last career fight in Las Vegas. I suspect he may take that route, but we'll just have to wait and see.